What should I do?

[jp2005]

So I'm thinking of all of my choices to make my truck faster and more reliable so what do you think I should?

[forrestbump]

Call me a "Simple Guy" (or is that a Simple Minded Guy?)...anyway I feel that's what's wrong with the automotive world and the world in general today, we've become to dependent on technology to fix our lives and eliminate anything that requires labor.

I'm sure many will disagree with me as even I do myself when I consider the fact that computers DO make modern vehicles run better, cleaner and more fuel efficiently. Here I am typing this to you on a computer for example..hypocritical aren't I... you bet.

But I feel very strongly about good old fashioned, simple to work on, vehicles that require our attention...I have a very nostalgic love for them.

...my answer? K.I.S.S. ...leave it alone as Henry Ford would want you to.

[STROKER69]

[sargentrs]

Just more stuff to go wrong and more money to spend fixing it, IMHO. Although, I have a friend who's a genius at all this new modern technology automotive stuff. He could troubleshoot his Beamer and nail down that it was a crankshaft positioning sensor just by hooking up his multimeter and checking amperage and the connectors, etc. Even has a program on his laptop that he plugs in an OBD scanner via USB and fine tune performance crap on his Harley. Gear head from way back but an electronics whiz too. That stuff is WAY over my head. Unless you can do that kind of diagnostics, stick with carbs and distributors.

[woods]

Well, how hard they are to work on really depends on the vehicle and year (of course). Two examples come to mind...I had an F350 when they first started getting into computer controlling. When something went haywire, it was a bit of a bugger to diagnose. It wasn't the truck or the computer per say. It was just that at the time, it was all foreign to me. Once I familiarized myself with it, I found it just as simple as working on anything else.

Now...my girl has a newer Subaru for her daily driver. The other day, the check engine light came on, but it seemed to be running just perfect. Try and figure that one out with no equipment right. So I plugged in my scanner and it tells my that there was a misfire on number 2 cylinder. I gave attention to that cylinder and found that a mouse, squirrel or some kind of rodent had chewed a little insulation off the bottom of the plug wire on number two cylinder. Changed it and was off and running.
So...that was pretty cool in my book.

[Ranchero50]

Ditto that, seems theres enough info to be found via the search function to answer pretty much any question you'd have without creating another poorly decribed topic with only one line of text.

So, what should you do... How about list what you need the truck to do and what you want the truck to do instead of just some dumb generic question that will get you a whole bunch of dumb generic answers?

Jamie

[jp2005]

Ditto that, seems theres enough info to be found via the search function to answer pretty much any question you'd have without creating another poorly decribed topic with only one line of text.

So, what should you do... How about list what you need the truck to do and what you want the truck to do instead of just some dumb generic question that will get you a whole bunch of dumb generic answers?

Jamie

Wow ok! There are no stupid questions, but if you feel that you can delete the post. No worries on me

[390Nut]

"Speed is only a question of money. How fast do you want to go?"

You can get "reliable" just by adding a simple electronic iginition; ie, Pertronix or Duraspark. As for "fast", the sky is the limit. Keep in mind it is a truck, but the engine can be made to go very fast. For the right price. But it will still drive like an old truck.

And he didn't say it was a "stupid" question. He said it was a generic question, and it is. Maybe not dumb, but it IS generic and we see those time and time again, hence his remark.

[Ranchero50]

Ditto that, seems theres enough info to be found via the search function to answer pretty much any question you'd have without creating another poorly decribed topic with only one line of text.

So, what should you do... How about list what you need the truck to do and what you want the truck to do instead of just some dumb generic question that will get you a whole bunch of dumb generic answers?

Jamie

Wow ok! There are no stupid questions, but if you feel that you can delete the post. No worries on me

See, Here we go again, one line of text in a post that adds nothing to the topic that you created. I could have sent you a private message but it get's the word out for folks to be descriptive in their posts, especially in a topic title. In the Paractical Machinist forum a poorly titled thread just get's locked because folks don't have time to just click on each thread just to realise what the topic is... You have several replies already but you can see by them that no one knows what you are trying to accomplish.

Now, what was the topic again?

[jp2005]

Well I guess my goal would be more of a resto mod that I can be comfortable driving like a normal new truck without the monthly payment. Few examples Better gas mileage, quicker throttle, reliable. Does this help on the topic? I like the ideas you guys have given. Thank you!

[forrestbump]

Well I guess my goal would be more of a resto mod that I can be comfortable driving like a normal new truck without the monthly payment. Few examples Better gas mileage, quicker throttle, reliable. Does this help on the topic?

Yes it partially does. Based on your slightly more detailed description, I would recommend improving the basics, but I'm assuming that you have a sound engine, transmission, drive line and rear axle to begin with...

Keeping an eye on "Reliability" I'd begin with a Dura Spark Ignition upgrade, Carb? If it's a 2100 two barrel, keep it and rebuilt it, replace/repair all of your electrical connections and parts that are questionable in appearance and function.

Because there's NOT a detailed description of what you're beginning with, I'm just covering the basics of that which will give you the greatest "Bang for Your Buck" in the world of reliability.

More information is extremely helpful.

[zack]

I have not read thru all of the response's but I just thought Id add that I personally have learned a lot of info over the years from reading automotive magazines like peteresens 4 wheel and off road, hot rod and car craft. some of the stuff is crap but there is a lot of good stuff in them to. a while ago one of them did a story on a nova that a young man drove to collage and they wanted to add drivability, gas mileage and reliability to the car. by switching the carb to an aftermarket fuel injection they did all 3 with impressive results. I'm sure if you searched some magazine websites you would find additional stories to help you out. just my